Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released in some territories with the alternative subtitle the Sorcerer's Stone) is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film, which is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. The story follows Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts as he discovers that he is a famous wizard and begins his magical education. Plot Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is a seemingly ordinary boy, living with his hostile relatives, the Dursleys in Surrey. On his eleventh birthday, Harry learns from a mysterious stranger, Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), that he is actually a wizard, famous in the Wizarding World for surviving an attack by the evil Lord Voldemort when Harry was only a baby. Voldemort killed Harry's parents, but his attack on Harry rebounded, leaving only a lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead and rendering Voldemort powerless. Hagrid reveals to Harry that he has been invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After buying his school supplies from the hidden London street, Diagon Alley, Harry boards the train to Hogwarts via the concealed Platform 9¾ in King's Cross Station. On the train, Harry meets Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), a boy from a large, but poor, pure-blood wizard family, and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), a witch born to non-magical parents. Once they arrive at the school, Harry and all of the other first-year students are sorted into four different houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. As Slytherin is noted for being the house of darker wizards and witches, Harry successfully begs the magical Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin. He winds up in Gryffindor, along with Ron and Hermione. Ron's older brothers have all gone to Gryffindor too: mischievous twins Fred and George, Percy, Charlie (who researches dragons in Romania) and Bill (who works for Gringotts Bank). At Hogwarts, Harry begins learning wizardry and also discovers more about his past and his parents. He gets recruited for Gryffindor's Quidditch (a sport in the wizarding world where people fly on broomsticks) team as a Seeker, as his father was before him. One night, he, Ron and Hermione find a giant three-headed dog named Fluffy, who belongs to Hagrid, on a restricted floor at the school. They later find out the dog is guarding the Philosopher's Stone, an item that can be used to grant its owner immortality. After Ron tells Harry what he thinks about Hermione, unintentionally hurting her feelings, the 3 of them battle a fully-grown mountain troll on Halloween in the girl's bathroom. Harry concludes that his potions teacher, the unfriendly Severus Snape (Alan Rickman), is trying to obtain the stone in order to return Voldemort to a human form. Harry encounters Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest where he, Ron, Hermione and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) are serving detention by helping Hagrid look for an injured unicorn after being caught wandering around at night. After hearing from Hagrid that Fluffy will fall asleep if played music, Harry, Ron and Hermione decide to find the stone before Snape does. They face a series of tasks that are helping protect the stone and test each of their respective skills, which include surviving a deadly plant, flying past hundreds of flying keys and winning a violent, life-sized chess game. After getting past the tasks, Harry finds out that it was not Snape who wanted the stone, but rather Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Quirrell. Quirrell removes his turban and reveals Voldemort to be living on the back of his head. Voldemort tries to convince Harry to give him the stone (which Harry suddenly finds in his pocket as the result of an enchantment by the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore), by promising to bring his parents back from the dead, but Harry refuses. Quirrell tries to kill him but Harry's touch prevents Quirrell from hurting Harry and causes his hand to turn to dust. Quirrell then tries to take the stone but Harry grabs his face, causing Quirrell to turn into dust and die. When Harry gets up, Voldemort's spirit forms and passes through Harry, knocking him unconscious, before fleeing. Harry wakes up in the school's hospital wing, with Professor Dumbledore at his side. Dumbledore explains that the stone has been destroyed, and that, despite Ron nearly being killed in the chess match, both he and Hermione are fine. The reason Quirrell burned at Harry's touch was because when Harry's mother died to save him, her death gave Harry a magical, love-based protection against Voldemort. Harry, Ron and Hermione are rewarded house points for their heroic performances, and Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) is rewarded for bravely standing up to them, winning Gryffindor the House Cup. Before Harry and the rest of the students leave for the summer, Harry realizes that while every other student is going home, Hogwarts is truly his home. Cast *Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. Columbus had wanted Radcliffe for the role since he saw him in the BBC's production of David Copperfield, before the open casting sessions had taken place, but had been told by Figgis that Radcliffe's protective parents would not allow their son to take the part. Columbus explained that his persistence in giving Radcliffe the role was responsible for Figgis' resignation. Radcliffe was asked to audition in 2000, when Heyman and Kloves met him and his parents at a production of Stones in His Pockets in London. Heyman and Columbus successfully managed to convince Radcliffe's parents that their son would be protected from media intrusion, and they agreed to let him play Harry. Rowling approved of Radcliffe's casting, stating that "having seen his screen test I don't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry." Radcliffe was reportedly paid £1 million for the film, although he felt the fee was not "that important". William Moseley, who was later cast as Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia series, also auditioned for the role. *Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend at Hogwarts. He decided he would be perfect for the part "because has got ginger hair," and was a fan of the series.Having seen a Newsround report about the open casting he sent in a video of himself rapping about how he wished to receive the part. His attempt was successful as the casting team asked for a meeting with him. *Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's other best friend and the trio's brains. Watson's Oxford theatre teacher passed her name on to the casting agents and she had to do over five interviews before she got the part. Watson took her audition seriously, but "never really thought she had any chance of getting the role." The producers were impressed by Watson's self-confidence and she outperformed the thousands of other girls who had applied. *John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Hogwarts' Gryffindor House. *Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, a half-giant and Hogwarts' Groundskeeper. Coltrane was Rowling's first choice for the part. Coltrane, who was already a fan of the books, prepared for the role by talking with Rowling about Hagrid's past and future. *Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick, the Charms Master and head of Hogwarts' Ravenclaw House. *Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's Muggle (non-magical) uncle. *Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' Headmaster and one of the most famous and powerful wizards of all time. Harris initially rejected the role of Dumbledore, only to reverse his decision after his granddaughter stated she would never speak to him again if he did not take it. *Ian Hart as Professor Quirrell, the slightly nervous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, and also Lord Voldemort's voice. David Thewlis auditioned for the part; he would later be cast as Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. *John Hurt as Mr. Ollivander, the owner of Ollivanders, the finest wand producers in the wizarding world since 382 B.C. *Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the Potions Master and head of Hogwarts' Slytherin House. Tim Roth was the original choice for the role, but he turned it down for Planet of the Apes. *Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt. *Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor and transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. Smith was Rowling's personal choice for the part. *Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, Ron's caring mother. She shows Harry how to get to Platform 9 3⁄4. Before Walters was cast, American actress Rosie O'Donnell held talks with Columbus about playing Mrs. Weasley. Rik Mayall was cast in the role of Peeves, a poltergeist who likes to prank students in the novel. Mayall had to shout his lines off camera during takes, but the scene ended up being cut from the film. Release The film was released in the UK and US on 16 November 2001. It received positive critical reception, made more than $970 million at the worldwide box office, and was nominated for many awards, including the Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. As of December 2015, it is the 26th-highest-grossing film of all time and the second-highest-grossing film in the series behind the final film, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. 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